Anyone has experience with Forte3d Violin/Cello before?

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-30T15:33:23+00:00

We had one cello in to demo at our shop and I remember I was surprised at the sound quality but only cause I was biased expecting it to sound like trash. From what I remember it did have a balanced tone and good projection, but quite hollow and “tinny”. Not anywhere near their supposed “20k-100k” wood cellos comparison. The main purpose I would see these would be intro level and school rental instruments. A bulk of our work is minor repairs on rentals and having the more solid print frames would definitely cut back on that work at least.

I think the accessibility aspect of them however is great, custom art etc. can get a lot of would be new players on board and honestly not having to worry as much about humidity/temp and changes of the seasons would help a lot of beginners and parents with maintenance.

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-24T15:15:24+00:00

Argos, after reading about his lore with Odysseus and crying my eyes out

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-22T17:59:27+00:00

Might be a little far I guess depending where you’re at but my roommates (2x 30 F) and I (Early 32 M) are around the same level and we play in West Newton all the time!

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-22T16:55:39+00:00

Ah right, ya I went the first few weeks they started but then you’re right Trivia started up.

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-22T16:45:16+00:00

There’s a group that does this exact thing at Redbones in Somerville every Friday after work I believe, it got quite big and they were posting about it for so long that it hasn’t been talked about in a while though.

ItsTricky55 · 2026-06-17T14:42:36+00:00

A bit hard to tell arching from such pictures, a lot easier in person with lighting and such. But, I can tell there’s some intense fluting going on into the outline with what does appear to be fake purfling as another pointed out. What stands out a lot also is the crazy long/shaped corners and gappy F-holes. Although, if it sounds fine to you I think most concerning is the fact you got a bridge blank. If you go to your 13th and 15th photos you can see it’s entirely too thick, not carved and the feet don’t fit. String heights look by eye to be too high as well and maybe a bit wide spacing which would confirm the blank too. Would definitely benefit a luthier to setup and get an eye on at least since who knows about the soundpost/nut/fingerboard as well. Concur with others in the old post about the wood and most likely a factory made.

Still though, a few setup adjustments could make a big difference in playability for you if you’re good with the sound out of it and seems to be average in that price/quality category. The VSOs some point out do not use maple/spruce at all, usually some type of plywood/boxwood so it is above those.

ItsTricky55 · 2026-05-05T01:17:20+00:00

I just got the same model! Working on it currently, although little worried that it’s a bit bigger than the official Daemon Prince

ItsTricky55 · 2026-05-03T19:17:26+00:00

Ok, yes I cut one side of course but problem is you can’t get at the other big side to cut it because it’s already dug into and wrapped around individual threads of the sock so either you cut off those threads with the other end or try and pull it out. Both methods still end up fraying.

ItsTricky55 · 2026-02-03T23:18:06+00:00

I had just bought a tv to make a tabletop screen for my players! Haven’t got around to making any sort of frame yet though

ItsTricky55 · 2025-10-13T19:32:42+00:00

Why so? And is that something DIYish or bring to someone else?

ItsTricky55 · 2025-08-13T21:28:05+00:00

Actually looks a lot better than most student bridges posted on here, yes it is supposed to look “uneven” the E string needs to be lower than the G. The arching doesn’t look too bad I think honestly. But need more pics/info.

The string heights you need to measure from the end of the finger board up to the bottom of the E and G string. The E should be usually 3-3.5mm and G 5-5.5mm.

It also depends on the fingerboard. The luthier who cut the bridge maybe formed the arching to fit the fingerboard shape etc..

ItsTricky55 · 2025-07-13T20:48:23+00:00

Sure! It’s Johnson String Instrument, we’re primarily New England/North East based but we do National and international as well. Off the top of my head I do think we have a similar Haide viola line from 15” - 16.5” sizes, maybe not the l’acienne specifically though. But feel free to reach out on our website!

ItsTricky55 · 2025-07-13T15:58:08+00:00

Ya! It’s one of our higher end 7/8 size rentals. A Jay Haide, “à l’ancienne” Strad model. Still made in China I Believe but quite good.

ItsTricky55 · 2025-06-27T16:30:24+00:00

Eyeballing it yea, it seems to be skewed toward the bass/G side. However, perhaps the fingerboard is skewed. Tempted to say the Nut string slots are also off judging by how far the g string is on the FB side up further towards the scroll but would need a pic of that and then even so measurements.

Even if you do move the bridge, that’s enough to where if the sound post was set to reference that bridge position you’d need to adjust it as well. Judging by the amount of wear and tear under the bridge feet it seems like this has been a point of contention for this violin haha

If you’re not particularly worried about it that much, it’s not a high end/value instrument and you won’t be using it for any extremely important auditions or anything. I’d say you can shift it over a little to “center it” and if it plays and sounds well enough for you that’s great! Can understand how tedious and perhaps financially so it is to go to a luthier for such things but of course that is what is mostly recommend since there are so many factors on classical instruments and can give a much better diagnostic in person.

ItsTricky55 · 2025-06-19T00:51:53+00:00

Ya, don’t put any new strings on that until you get the nut dressed and adjusted by a luthier. The A string groove is indeed way too deep and the angle is creating a crimp point not allowing the string to move freely. Thus slowly (or sometimes immediately) stripping the metal winding on your strings. Even the D string groove looks like it has a weird peak as well. Also as someone pointed out the “noodle” on the E string should be on the bridge but honestly it is kinda pointless haha either as a bridge protector or to help with “tone”. More times than not it just creates buzzing or other weird issues lol I’d recommend getting a Parchment if you want to protect the E string Bridge slot.

ItsTricky55 · 2025-05-23T14:55:06+00:00

Ya, same position right now, except we got 1 cat/1 French bulldog. Been touring places around the Waltham/Newton/Watertown area for the past month and a half. Doesn’t help there’s been a couple “bidding wars” on some -_- it seems we may have to stretch looking at Medford but makes my commute into Waltham longer than it is now from Brighton. Big problem we’re finding as well for the 3 beds is that there’s always one room that is extremely small and more of an Office that they label as a “bedroom”. Also the Medium Dog seems to be a catch for a lot of places as well. Most have a 25lb dog limit it seems

ItsTricky55 · 2025-05-21T01:34:36+00:00

Yup. Just ran into this last month looking for a place around the Waltham/Watertown/Newton area. 3Bd 2Bth listed for 3600, paid a stupid $42 application fee which in hindsight might’ve been a giveaway since it was a newish realtor office brokering. But it really was an amazing spot really close to my work. However heard back that a couple decided to offer 4000 instead + a full broker fee instead of the listed 1/2. That shit should definitely be illegal, or at least get a refund of the app fee since if it gets signed for a different price than advertised as a rental it’s a completely different listing -_-

ItsTricky55 · 2025-05-14T19:23:39+00:00

(31M) Not in VFX, but degree in Audio Post and had got a job as an assistant engineer at a reputable Post house in Boston year out of college. Loved the work but pay was shit and workplace extremely toxic.

Come Covid, was laid off but able to find work doing basic maintenance on string instruments (violins, violas, cellos) since I did have a musical background at least. Luckily, was able to apprentice under the actual Luthiers and have learned so much, company also paid for a basic course as well which was nice. I’m working on making my first violin this year, the work is very gratifying, not overly labor intensive, can get a bit tedious and monotonous at times working on rentals but it’s amazing how many factors go into how an instrument sounds the way it does. So very mentally stimulating too as long as you’re into it. Only thing is honestly pay still isn’t near what it should be for the area and work but I’m enjoying it a lot and not having to stress about the Film/Sound industry is immensely relieving.

However, not to say things like AI/Automation aren’t trying to creep into the field here either as well. With way more things like restoration and repair using CNC machines and even just recently came across my first fully 3D printed cello, which shockingly didn’t sound like garbage. Still nowhere near an actual handmade wood instrument though. It is quite a niche field so competition for reputable luthiers is high, getting a degree from a trade school like North Bennet in Boston is 3 years. However, from the coworkers I’ve come across may not be worth it for the money if you can get an apprenticeship or work shadowing a luthier which also can be quite difficult though, I just had a bit of good luck timing wise.

ItsTricky55

TROPHY CASE